Floor sinks have been in use for many years. In many cases floor sinks are highly useful for collecting waste water and the like that is drained off of floors and the like. Floor sinks can also be very useful for draining off the waste water from a wide variety of facilities and devices such as dishwashers and laundry machines. Since floor sinks are located in the floor usually gravity is relied upon to deliver the waste water and the like that is to be received by the floor sink and this feature makes floor sinks highly useful.
Unfortunately, the waste water and the like that floor sinks collect usually contains solid particles of food or other debris that is only temporarily suspended in the waste water. Such solid particles can easily lodge in the floor sink or even worse and possible more likely in the adjacent plumbing or sewer system and this will usually result in blockage of the sewer system or the like or the floor sink over time. This blockage will result in the waste water or the like being prevented from running through the sewer system and hence the waste water will back up and cause flooding of the adjacent floor with waste water which is not only unsanitary but can also result in physical damage to articles that might be located where they can come into contact with the backed up waste water.
To get rid of such backed up waste water it is usually necessary to pump the waste water out and then remove the blockage of food particles or the like. The removal of the blockage most likely will require the use of plumbing tools such as an elongated flexible member that can be rotated such as that commonly referred to as a "snake". In severe cases the floor may have to be taken up and the sewage lines dug up so that the blocked portion can be cleaned out or replaced. Such procedures are very time consuming and are very expensive and obviously it would be highly desirable to avoid these.
Various types of screens and the like have been used in the past to filter out suspended solid particles, but such screens have been used primarily in connection with particular types of equipment or appliances such as dishwashers and the like. In situations where there are numerous appliances, this means that there would be a number of screens that would have to be periodically inspected and cleaned or replaced which is inconvenient and time consuming. In addition, some appliances have no such screens of the like and hence suspended solids will pass into the sewer system and hence possibly cause a blockage of the system. The screens also become clogged in use and this has the undesirable effect of causing the backing up of waste water or possibly flooding and/or damage to appliances or equipment.
In view of the foregoing a need exists for an effective strainer and floor sink combination that has provisions for avoiding blocking of the sink. The present combined floor sink and strainer invention overcomes these previous problems and provides an effective strainer system located in the floor sink that is designed to allow fluid to pass through it even when the strainer is filled with sediment. This is accomplished by providing an alternative fluid flow path when the strainer becomes filled with sediment. In addition, provision is made for quickly removing a clogged strainer and replacing it with a clean strainer without shutting the combined floor sink and strainer down. The removed strainer can be readily cleaned separate from the combined floor sink and strainer. The combined floor sink and strainer is constructed in a manner that the reduction in flow rate when it is in use is kept to a minimum.